Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for branch prediction for indirect jumps.
Description of Related Art
Branch prediction is a critical component in the microarchitecture of modern high-performance processors. The branch prediction unit of a processor is tasked with the job of keeping the processor pipeline supplied with useful instructions to execute, preventing bubbles in the pipeline between executed instructions which are costly to performance. At a high level, branch prediction involves the prediction of whether a branch instruction in an executing program will be taken or not taken, and if the branch is taken, a prediction of what the target instruction address of the branch instruction will be. A highly accurate branch predictor enables the processor to fetch a continuous stream of good instructions to supply to the CPU pipeline, even in the presence of branch instructions which change the control flow of the executing application.